Socialism’s spoiled brats and how to prevent economic growth

In the National Review, conservative columnist Mona Charen refers to the rioters in France as “socialism’s spoiled brats.” We’ve got quite a few of the same type of spoiled brats here in America – with a healthy population of them here in Illinois.

Here’s how Charen describes what has taken place in France:

“Years of socialist legislation have shackled France’s economy and depressed growth. Between 1980 and 2000, only Greece and Germany grew more slowly (in Germany’s case, reunification took its toll). French law mandates a ‘livable’ minimum wage, with the result that jobs are comfortable for those who have them but often unobtainable for those who don’t. Because the French also make it extremely difficult to fire people, employers are reluctant to hire. The unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent. But for the young, the rate is closer to 25 percent. And for African and Arab immigrants, 50 percent is the norm.”

Mona Charen and others have pointed out the irony of the fact that as European countries attempt to undo some of the damage done by socialist policies, the Democratic Party seems bent on inflicting similar damage here.

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“If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.” —James Madison (1792)